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User blog:Applebaby12/Dark/Howler's Past (Part 2)
Three-moon-old Howler and Squealer thrived under the care of Seer, a kind white dog with wise blue eyes and a gentle yet strong demeanor. She often told them stories of her former Pack, where they were given names that either conveyed their job in the Pack or took on more personal meanings. She was named for her uncanny ability to predict future events using body language and context clues. The pups hoped that one day Seer would give them their own names. Their adopted littermate, Trick, died before he turned one moon old, and though she grieved fiercely for her litter, she devoted her life to caring for the pups who were surrendered to her moons ago. Seer taught the pups many life lessons, and one day she was telling the pups about death and the circle of life. When asked if she too would die, Seer assured them that all animals will and that it's simply the way nature worked. She added that she believed her own death would come while defending the two pups because she loved them so much. That night, Seer left the abandoned Longpaw structure where they lived and never returned. From that point on, Squealer and Howler were left to defend themselves. Squealer always believed that Seer had died just as she had predicted, but Howler couldn't help but be suspicious. Despite Seer's absence, the two were able to survive well enough on their own for the next three moons. Living near the border of the Winding-River Pack, the siblings dreamed of joining their ranks and hunting side-by-side with friends and Packmates, though they were always too nervous to approach one of the patrols. By the time the pups were six moons old, they were enjoying a calm Tree-Flower day when out of nowhere they were attacked by a vicious lone-wolf. Howler was unable to protect his sister, who was fatally injured at the paws of this stranger. Before he could get to Howler, however, a patrol of Winding-River Pack appeared. Howler was shocked to find out that these Pack wolves recognized the Lone-Wolf, though he ran away before anyone could speak to him. Howler begged the patrol of wolves to help his dying sister, but none of them budged. One of the wolves somberly informed him that they could not go against their Alpha's orders, no matter how mad he may be. Squealer died soon after, and he buried her near the Longpaw structure where they were raised by Seer. From that day on, Howler swore revenge on the Winding-River Pack. He blamed them for allowing their Alpha to murder Squealer and not doing anything to help her, and he felt foolish for once wishing to join them and hunt for them. To him, they were either a Pack of murderers or a Pack of sheeple cowards. Moons passed by and Howler stayed in the abandoned Longpaw structure, refusing to leave even at the threat of the evil Pack Alpha returning. Squealer had always been there to keep his brashness in check, to be the calm and reasonable one to balance out his impulsive and brash tendencies. Without her, Howler had no one to restrain him from his reckless and . He did his best to build up strength and find a way to avenge his sister. One day, when he was around twelve moons old, he met someone who would change his life forever. Hawk was a plucky young she-wolf, around eight moons old, with scruffy fur and a stocky build. At first Howler didn't think much of her. They had both been hunting the same hare and ended up catching it together; neither could agree on who deserved the prey, so instead they shared it. After that first encounter, Hawk started hanging around Howler's small territory and hunted with him occasionally. Howler was apprehensive about having company, but he soon grew closer to Hawk and began seeking out her company as much as she did his. She was a bit headstrong and brazen like him, but was much more capable of thinking things through and looking at reason, so they were a good match. Eventually he shared his story with her, telling Hawk everything about Seer and the mad Winding-River Pack wolf who killed her sister. Hawk was shocked to hear about his history with the Winding-River Pack, as she had been born there. Howler was tempted to cast her out at first, but when she explained why she left, he began to realize that they both had a grudge against the Winding-River Pack. Hawk's mother had been neglectful and distant, and she'd never been given the attention she needed as a pup. And as she grew older, she realized that she wasn't being ignored only by her mother but by the entire Pack. While most other pups had littermates and parents who cared about them, Hawk started to feel lonely and unwanted. Things escalated when neither of her parents took her out to practice hunting or fighting, so she would sneak out of camp to practice on her own. When the Pack found out about this and tried to punish her, she decided that she didn't have any allegiance to the wolves she lived around and left the Pack, choosing a new name for herself. Howler confessed that he intended to get his revenge on the Winding-River Pack and told Hawk that he understood if she wanted to leave him to avoid confronting her former Packmates. But Hawk instead promised to help him and gave him the idea to build a Pack of Lone-Wolves like themselves to rival the Winding-River Pack. ---- The first wolf that Howler met to join their cause was Fallen, a somewhat mysterious Lone-Wolf who, despite her somewhat young age, proved herself to be mature and wise. The two almost immediately hit it off, and Howler was impressed by how intelligent she was. After about three moons of gaining more and more supporters, Howler decided that she would be the perfect wolf to be his second-in-command. This sparked jealousy from Hawk; though she never said anything, she had hoped that Howler would choose her as Beta. But he explained to her that he needed someone to balance out his personality. Hawk was just too much like him, and she knew that he was right. She still remained one of Howler's closest supporters, and had grown a deep affection and admiration for him. However, things weren't perfect forever. By the time the next Ice-Wind came around, Hawk had matured a good deal. Her and Howler weren't seeing eye to eye as well as they used to; while she'd been growing more responsible and less impulsive, he had only grown more and more ambitious and brash as he gained more supporters. As it turned out, there were quite a few Lone-Wolves who either wanted the protection of a Pack without the strictness of the Winding-River Pack, or had a desire for revenge against the Pack like Howler and Hawk did. Though Fallen was there to keep him from doing something stupid, many of his followers fed into his anger. Hawk, however, was much more focused on keeping their friends warm and fed. She began to doubt Howler's strength as a leader, worrying that he was going to get himself and others hurt. Of course, she still cared a lot about him, and didn't want to outright challenge him, but she couldn't stand to watch him get consumed by his need for vengeance. Tensions were rising. Hawk hoped that Howler would cool down on his own, while he continued to descend further into his intense hatred. On one fateful day, when the wind blew colder and hatred ran deeper, there was a confrontation that would change Howler's life forever. Category:Blog posts